Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher leaves hospital after bladder operation

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has left the hospital after an operation to remove a bladder growth.

The 87-year-old former Conservative leader was admitted to the hospital last week to have the operation.

The BBC and Sky News said Thatcher was doing well and left the hospital on Saturday to "convalesce privately." Her spokesman did not immediately return calls seeking confirmation.

Thatcher, Britain's first female prime minister, has been in fragile health since she suffered a series of small strokes more than a decade ago. Although she has occasionally appeared at private functions, she has not made public statements for some time.

She served as prime minister from May 1979 until her resignation in November 1990.

AP